Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an image formation apparatus, and particularly to an image formation apparatus allowing a filter to be removed at a sheet output tray.
Description of the Related Art
General image formation apparatuses are provided with a duct therein, a fan and a filter are attached to the duct, and the fan sucks air and the filter removes ozone and provides deodorization.
In order to ensure a filtration effect, it is necessary to replace the filter with another periodically. Conventionally, to help filter replacement, normally, the filter is disposed at an exhaust port which exhausts air to outside the apparatus. However, there is a long distance between the exhaust port and the image formation unit, and accordingly, pressure loss is caused resulting in an impaired filtration effect.
In order to increase removal efficiency, it is preferable to dispose the filter and the fan at a location near the image formation unit to reduce the duct's distance to thus suppress pressure loss. For example the filter may be attached to the image formation unit and thus allowed to be replaced together with the image formation unit integrally. However, the image formation unit is replaced by a serviceman and cannot be replaced by the user per se. In addition, the replacement of the filter is done together with the replacement of the image formation unit integrally, and as the replacement of the image formation unit is thus costly, the filter is normally replaced in accordance with the image formation unit's replacement period and thus cannot be replaced depending on its state of use.
Alternatively, the filter may be disposed individually at a location close to the image formation unit. In that case, the filter is disposed inside the apparatus, and can be replaced by the user per se, however, there are disposed a large number of parts involved in image formation, and replacing the filter is still a cumbersome operation for the user.
If the method described in Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2014-71293 is used, the replacement operation requires removing a cover of the main body of the apparatus, which is inefficient in operability, and furthermore, it is impossible to replace the filter while an image is formed